Hartfield

(A.A.Milne and Winnie-the-Pooh)

General Details

The village is named in the Domesday Book of 1086 , but the present church
was not started until the 1250's .

The village grew from its agricultural roots until it became a centre for
iron and timber . The village had a furnace and forge in the valley to the
north, producing iron goods . The wealth from the iron can be seen from the
construction of the church and the buildings in the village. A most unusual
black and white timbered house lies at the entrance to the churchyard which
incorporates a lychgate .

In 1924 the village saw its main claim to fame arrive in the guise of the
Milne family who bought Cotchford Farm . A small bridge was built over the
stream at the end of their land in 1925 . A young Christopher Robin Milne
visited the shops in the village with his nanny in the 1920's, his father
A.A.Milne wrote the Winnie-the-Pooh stories which incorporated the young
Christopher.( see also Guestling ). A.A.Milne died at Cotchford in 1956.

The area near Hartfield is also included in his books,
with the bridge on the farm being the place where Poohsticks were invented.

The bridge can still be visited as it was restored by East Sussex County
Council in 1979 the bridge lies to the south of the village.

Services

Hartfield has quite a few local services for a small
village, this is probably due to the number of visitors
who come to see the area that A.A.Milne used to live in.

The nearest main shopping centre is at East Grinstead, about 6 miles
to the north west.

The nearest main line station also lies at East Grinstead , with a
regular service into London.

Views

Hartfield has some very nice views to the north across the rolling
countryside, one of the best is from the churchyard.

lychgate cottage which lies at the entrance to the churchyard is a very
pretty old building with oak used in most of its construction.

Church lane is very pretty with many old tile hung and half timbered
buildings.

Name Derivation

Hartfield is probably derived from the Anglo Saxon Heorot feld(the field where
the harts are - harts being male deer). It lies on the northern edge of the
Ashdown Forest which was once a royal deer hunting park.